


Phones

by bigk4062



Series: Inspired By [8]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Character Death, Cheating, Leaving Home, Loneliness, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27862913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigk4062/pseuds/bigk4062
Summary: After putting up with Kaiba's affairs for months Joey is ready to move on...
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Series: Inspired By [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1390405
Comments: 29
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another songish fic, this one inspired by Martina McBride's 'Phones are ringing...' I wrote this one last week but I ended up changing it so much I had to finish it up between work and school.

March 4th- My therapist told me to start this journal. I don’t know what to say.

March 12th- Today is out anniversary. Kaiba was supposed to be home but work called. Cancelled dinner reservations.

March 16th- He came home after two days. Smells like old spice again. 3rd time this month.

March 18th- I’ve lost 2 pounds. Food has no taste.

April 2nd- Yug came over Today. Crushed me in 2 games. Took me to Burger World and watched me eat dinner.

April 29th-Old Spice again.

April 13th-Again

April 20th- again

April 24th- Since when did he like this cheap stuff anyway?

April 27th- he came home early and took me to dinner for our anniversary. 2 months ago.

April 28th- Came home early again. Dinner again. Limo sex again. Luckily its dark in there so he doesn’t notice the weight I’ve lost.

May 3rd- He’s been home every nigh this week. The Old Spice smell has disappeared, just like it’s owner.

May 30th- I’ve almost forgotten why I kept this journal in the first place. Things are great.

June 29th- I knew it was too good too last.

Joey put down his journal, deep in thought. Kaiba had started coming home late again last week. Last night, he had come home smelling like flowers, a trace of lipstick at his neck. Joey had watched as his husband took his shirt off quietly, showing off what seemed to be a bite mark on his shoulder. Kaiba stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed, wrapping Joey up in his arms before falling asleep. The blond stayed awake all night, silent counting the moments till dawn.

July 3rd- Whoever she is, I hope their happy.

Joey knew what he had to do. The plane ticket was already bought, he had withdrawn enough money to survive 6 months on his own. One of his contacts had made a new identity for him, one that would hopefully last long enough for Kaiba to stop looking for him. He hadn’t told anyone what he was planning, deciding instead to write letters to all his friends which he would mail when he landed in Australia, his first stop.

Hopefully that would throw Kaiba off his scent. He had already snuck out several bags and stored them in a secret spot he had found during Battle City. He knew he would have to be careful not to alert a guard when he left tomorrow, but no one seemed to care what he did at this point. His phone rang, and Joey jumped.

“Hey Mokuba.” He stated, smiling at his brother-in-law’s voice.

“No, he’s at work right now. How’s Egypt?”

“Good.”

“You’ll be home next week, right?”

“That’ awesome, I know your brother can’t wait to see you.”

“Me too.”

“No, everything’s fine.” A few more pointed questions, then Joey managed to steer him towards other things, catching up on friend gossip and what had been going on in during Mokuba’s meetings. Before Joey knew it, an hour had passed before they hung up. Joey looked down at his phone, noticing that Kaiba had texted him that he wasn’t going to be home for dinner. Joey sighed. It looked like his last night in Domino would be by himself staring at the tv.

X

Kaiba came home later that night, stripping his coat off and checking it for loose hairs before hanging it up. His shoulders dropped, and he sighed. Domesticated life had suited him for a few years, but, just like when he took over Kaiba Corp, after a while the shine had come off and he needed something new. He tried to spice things up in his marriage, but he was unable to tell Joey what it was he needed.

That had led to his first affair with the coffee shop guy. Then the next, with a dog walking in the park. The next was with someone he had met online, and now it was a woman he had met in a bar who had came over and handed him her room key without even talking to him first. She clearly knew what was missing in his life. He had been seeing her almost everyday for the past few weeks, feeling himself being rejuvenated and starting to look forward to seeing his husband again.

Now he just wanted to climb into bed with the blond. A few more romps with this woman, and he would feel settled down and ready to fix his marriage. He ran things over in his mind, wondering how best to seduce his husband, deciding on a few things to try out tomorrow.

Glancing in the mirror, he noticed a smudge of lipstick on his collar and quickly ripped his shirt off, not wanting Joey to see it. Kaiba tiptoed up the stairs, throwing his shirt down the chute, hoping Joey wouldn’t see it.

Kaiba turned on the hallway light, quietly opening his bedroom door. Joey was in bed, sleeping. Kaiba gently eased himself into bed next to his husband, wondering to himself when Joey had started wearing clothes to bed again. He scooted up to Joeys back, kissing the blond hair gently before closing his eyes to sleep.

X

The next morning, Kaiba sat in his office thinking quietly. Joey hadn’t spoken all morning to him, barely eating breakfast while Kaiba drank his coffee. He felt like he needed to do something to start closing the gap between him and his husband.

Tapping a finger on his desk, he pondered a few things before deciding on dinner. After all, the best way to his husband’s heart was his stomach. He could leave work for a few hours tomorrow to meet what’s-her-face, he never did catch her real name.

Feeling confident, he picked up the phone, dialing Joey’s number and waiting for his husband to pick up. Finally, it went to voicemail, and he quickly spoke into the phone, muttering a few ‘I love you’s’ before hanging up. Waiting a moment, he called back again, and again, and again, leaving a voicemail each time. Joey never missed a call, even if he was in class he always managed to at least text back quickly.

Finally, he called home, talking with one of the maids who told him Joey had gone out several hours before. He hung up, calling The Game Shop. Joey had probably gone over there and left his phone in the car. Yugi’s Grandpa answered, telling him that Mako was in town and the whole gang had gone out for the day on his boat. Kaiba thanked him, hanging up and taking a deep breath.

That made sense, they probably had no service out on the boat, so Joey couldn’t answer him. He picked up the phone, dialing the number to each of Joey’s friends, hoping that someone would pick up. Each one went to voicemail, confirming his theory. He called Joey’s sister next, along with his brother, but no one picked up. Hanging up on Mokuba’s voicemail, he called down to Roland, telling the other man to try Pegasus and Mai. Taking a deep breath, he tried to get back to work, attempting to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach.

X

At precisely 5pm, Kaiba was at the docks, clutching a pile of Kit-Kats. Joey loved those terrible things, and he would often make Kaiba stock at a convince store to check and see if there were any new flavors out. He wasn’t aware at the other end of Domino, Joey’s flight was departing.

After he had to endure a call from Pegasus giggling over the mutt being left off his leash, Kaiba had left the office, driving around to try to pick up an appropriate ‘I’m Sorry’ gift. Nothing too big, or Joey would know something happened that was more than just his husband staying late at work. That left out anything expensive- a new watch, fancy chocolates, or even flowers.

In shire frustration he had driven past the convenience store and pulled in, grabbing any flavor of Kit Kat that he could remember Joey saying he liked. Hopefully Joey would accept his peace offering, Kaiba was even prepared to invite all his friends out to dinner to make the blond happy. He checked his watch. 5:16. His stomach started to churn, and the wave of nausea he had been fighting all day started to come back up. Ever since he had left Joey that first voicemail, he had been feeling sick to his stomach. Each phone call had made it worse, and by the time he had gotten off the phone with Pegasus, the great and mighty Seto Kaiba had wanted to do nothing more that curl up in a ball and cry.

Pathetic, since he was going to see Joey in a couple of hours, but the blond had never disappeared like this on him before. He was starting to understand why Pegasus went crazy after his wife died, even the thought of something possible happening to Joey was making him feel nuts. He checked the dock one more time to make sure Mako’s boat wasn’t parked there and frowned again. It was getting close to 530 and Yugi’s Grandpa had told him they would be back by now to head out for dinner.

Maybe he should… just then his eagle eyes spotted a boat on the horizon. Standing up straight, he brushed himself off, watching as the boat approached the dock. As soon as he knew where it was heading, he walked over, still clutching the Kit Kats in his hand. Ignoring the puzzled look Tristan was throwing him, he waited impatiently for Joey to dock, beginning to second guess his idea of extended a dinner invite to their friends. In fact, he was re-thinking dinner altogether, wanting nothing more than to heave Joey over his shoulder and apologize in bed. Tapping his foot anxiously, he waited as Tea disembarked, looking at him in surprise.

“Hi Kaiba, what are you doing here?” She questioned, walking up to the other brunet. Kaiba unconsciously offered her his hand to help her get up the stairs.

“I came to get Joey. We had plans for tonight.” Kaiba told her, watching as she slowly shook her head.

“Joey’s not here Kaiba. He showed up this morning and apologized that he had to finish a project for school.” She barely finished getting that sentence out before Kaiba sank down to the dock, dropping and crushing the Kit Kats in his hand, not even hearing the shouting of the rest of Joey’s friends.

X

Later on that night, Kaiba paced in front of the house phone, willing it to ring. Once he was sure Joey wasn’t with his friends, he had driven to campus with Yugi, Yami and Duke, checking each car in the parking lot for Joey’s plates.

Since it was so late, there weren’t many cars there, but Yugi had sworn that Joey had driven himself to the marina. They had walked around campus looking for the blond but saw no one. Finally, Kaiba hacked into Joey’s school account, surprised to find out that he had dropped out of classes several weeks ago. That news had brought the brunet to his knees again, leaving the other three to drag him to the car.

Duke drove to the mansion, while Yugi texted with the group to check some of Joey’s other haunts. Once Kaiba got his wits back, he called the doctor and the hospitals, worrying and hoping that Joey had ended up there. Hoping because he would at least know where Joey is, worrying because he couldn’t bear losing his husband. Even with the cheating, lying, and dishonesty, Kaiba lived and breathed for the blond. He didn’t know what to do, but he was going to do something. He would go to therapy, he would confess everything, he would do whatever it took to get his husband back home with him.

Absentmindedly, he took a sip of the water that Roland had brought him, not even realizing it was drugged until he toppled over into his bodyguard’s arms.

X

The sun was peaking in through the curtains the next morning when Kaiba opened his eyes, blinking heavily. He rolled over, reaching for Joey but feeling nothing. He got up slowly, reaching for his phone, frowning when he felt nothing. He slowly got out of bed, feeling a hundred years old.

Opening the door, he padded downstairs, blinking in surprise when he heard Roland talking to someone. He smiled, ready to greet his husband after the awful night he had, when he realized that voice did belong to Joey but to… “Mokuba?” He questioned, looking in the living room.

Sure enough, there was his brother, sitting on the couch talking to the older man. “Big brother!?!!” Mokuba said, jumping up and wrapping his brother in a hug. “What are you doing here? I told them not to call you.”

“I got in last night. I talked to Joey the other day and he sounded upset, so I thought I’d come home early.”

“Oh.” Kaiba said, sinking down into a chair. Mokuba looked over at Roland in concern. The bodyguard left the room and Mokuba sat down next to his brother, touching the brunet on the shoulder.

“Seto, they found Joey’s car not far from the docks last night. The police looked it over. They think something happened to him.” Kaiba’s face paled as he attempted to stabilize himself on the kitchen table, trying to keep the room from spinning.

X

Serenity placed a white rose on top of the pile, sobbing quietly. It had been 3 months since Joey had disappeared. After the police DNA tested the blood in his car, they determined it mostly belonged to the blond, but there were traces that led back to a member of his old gang, the person that had taken his place after he left. He was quickly arrested, confessing to murdering Joey and dumping his body in the ocean.

Kaiba had wanted to go out and search for his husband, but after 2 days of looking Mokuba had finally convinced him that Joey had been dragged out so far he would never be found. Finally, Kaiba accepted it, growing silent as he planned a memorial service for the man he loved.

All Yugi’s friends were there, along with many of the duelists they had fought over the years. The line seemed endless, people Kaiba didn’t even think Joey liked crying as the brothers and Serenity shook their hands. Rex and Weevil for one, and those idiots that worked for Dartz. Still he smiled through the platitudes, feeling a million miles away.

They had started the day at Kaibaland, where Yami and Kaiba had dueled, Kaiba with Joey’s deck. Kaiba had ended up winning, and if he hadn’t known Yami so well, he would have thought that the former Pharaoh had lost on purpose.

Afterwards had been the memorial service at the church, which had been lit with candles as people reflected on Joey’s life and the good things he had done. Finally, once this was done, they would make their way to a business partners house up the coast a little. Mokuba had bought stacks of flying wish paper, asking people to write down something they wanted to say to Joey. They would light the wishes off one by one while people ate dinner. Once the paper was lit, it would take flight, allowing their words to reach Joey, wherever he was.

Finally, the last hand was shook, and Mokuba escorted him out of the church, Serenity’s husband holding her up as they walked to the limo, settling him into a chair when they reached their next destination.

Kaiba sat blankly with a drink in his hand, watching as one of his guards slowly went through the pile of wishes. He blindly ate whatever Mokuba put in front of him, not wanting to take his eyes off the pieces of ash that were floating in the air. This was his last connection to his husband, and he didn’t want to let it go.

One by one people started to leave, patting him on the shoulder and whispering condolences. The night air cooled, and someone brought him a blanket. Kaiba didn’t want this special treatment, all he wanted was Joey. All he wanted was to beg for forgiveness, to spill out all the secrets he had been holding in for so long, but it was too late. All he had was a few scraps of paper that he had written on that he would burn off another day, alone. He would get no forgiveness, no second chances, and he would carry this guilt until the day he died.

He was vaguely aware of Roland at his side. His poor bodyguard had been through so much without a word, but this had hit him hard. Kaiba had caught him crying at the office several times the past few weeks, only making his grief worse.

Now Roland was stoic, directing him to the limo along with Serenity and her husband. Mokuba lagged, indicating he needed a moment. Walking to the water’s edge, Mokuba pulled out a blank wish paper, rolling it up before burning it, watching the ash dance away.

“I’m so sorry Joey.” He whispered, closing his eyes. He stood like that for a moment, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. He then reached back into his suit jacket, pulling out Joey’s plane ticket and letters from that faithful day. He had stored them in the limo, and had managed to sneak back and grab them while people were distracted.

Carefully setting them on fire one by one, he watched as the ash rose. These were the last speck of evidence about what happened. The poor idiot that had done the hit would never know who really hired him.

“You didn’t deserve this, but I told you, nobody leaves my big brother.” Mokuba closed his eyes, silently pleading for forgiveness before walking back towards the limo.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance if I ruin this for anyone.... Kaiba attempts to adjust to life without Joey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't get over how many people liked this. I hope I'm not making a mistake by adding to it! Anyway, thanks to Reader4Books, talyag, wavesover, ZokuRumba, Felidae5, tyrelingkitten, and Regoo1 for commenting, ZokuRumba, tsumikara, talyag, tomski_19, Finnal, and Reg001 for kudos, and ZokuRumba, tsumikara and Reg001 for bookmarking!

Mokuba stood outside the hotel room, debating what to do. It had been two months since Joey’s killer had been convicted of kidnapping, the jury coming back with a Not Guilty verdict since no body had been found. Mokuba cursed himself for that. He should have told them to leave the body somewhere so it would be found, so his brother could have closure. He had asked to have it dumped because he knew he couldn’t face what he had done, and now Seto was being punished for it. 

His brother had fallen apart after the verdict, taking a leave of absence from work and bouncing from hotel room to hotel room with whoever he found in a bar. Mokuba knew it was time to get his brother to stop this behavior. After all, he hadn’t paid someone to get rid of Joey just to have his brother fall apart. 

Knocking at the door, he listened as footsteps approached. The door opened, and he blinked in surprise. He wasn’t expecting to see a mostly naked woman in front of him, wearing one of his brother’s shirts unbuttoned with nothing on underneath it. 

“Move.” He said, brushing past her. Marching in the room, he saw his brother sprawled out on the bed, clearly waiting for his companion to come back and finish what she started. 

“What are you doing?” Mokuba snapped, furious. “Get up and get dressed. I’ll meet you in the lobby in 15.” He said, turning on his heel to leave the room. Glancing at the woman staring at him surprise, he looked back at his brother, pointing a finger at her. “I don’t ever want to see her again.” He said, marching at the door and slamming it. 

14 minutes later, he was pacing in the hotel lobby not sure of what to do. When he had realized that Joey was about to do something stupid and had come home, he never thought he'd find himself leaving money in a back alley to pay for somebody to kill the blond. He had adored Joey and thought the two of them had had a great relationship. Sure, his brother was stupid sometimes, but Mokuba had thought Joey could look past those faults. 

When he had realized what was going to happen, he knew he had act fast, he knew that his brother would never get over Joey leaving him. Now though he had a real mess on his hands. If things had gone as planned, somebody would have been in jail right now convicted of Joey’s murder, Seto would’ve mourned but eventually things would have gotten better. Instead, no one would pay, and his brother was never going to get closure. 

He heard footsteps, and then his brother was next to him, looking little worse for the wear. “It’s time for you to come back.” Mokuba told him, giving his brother a no-nonsense look. “There’s been too many questions and comments about why you haven’t returned. Get it together and do what you must help keep this company afloat. You know Joey would not want you mourning like this.” Mokuba told him, watching as the light went out in his brother's eyes. He couldn’t stand it, so he simply turned on his heel in walked out of the hotel lobby, mentally sighing in relief with his brother was following him. 

X 

Serenity held her breath as her husband pulled up to the mansion. Mokuba had convinced them to come out for a long weekend and she was nervous. She had tried to keep in touch with the brothers after Joey’s trial, but Kaiba’s 180 back into his old self had kept her from seeing her former brother in law often. Joey had died almost a year and a half ago, and she had seen Kaiba a total of 5 times since then outside of court. 

However, Charlotte had begged her parents to go to Domino. Yugi had promise to let her play the game he was designing and that was all the all she could talk about. Serenity could deny her daughter nothing, and that was why she was standing back at the mansion, looking up at the older Kaiba Brother who clearly was not happy they were there. Mokuba had told her that he was still going out, binge drinking and picking people up whenever he had the chance. The younger brother had tried to put the Mansion on the market, thinking a smaller place would help both of them, but Kaiba had squashed the idea, melting down and punching several holes in the wall in anger. 

Mokuba brushed past him, running down the stairs to wrap Serenity in a hug before greeting Charlotte and Eric. Clearly the raven-haired man was in desperate need of companionship at this time, and Serenity hoped his presence would at least calm his brother some what. Taking a deep breath, she followed Mokuba to the house, nodding once to the CEO as she walked past him. 

That night they had dinner, Charlotte enthusiastically telling Mokuba about school. Kaiba sat at the head of the table silently, not engaging with anybody. Serenity shared a look with her husband not knowing what to say. Finally, dinner was done, and Kaiba stood up, silently walking out the door and leaving them to their own devices. 

Mokuba let him go, turning towards his niece and smiling at her, suggesting that they go in the other room and play some games. Charlotte agreed, taking her mother by the hand as they walk through the hallways. 

Eric stayed the table, summoning his courage before getting up and making his way over to Kaiba’s study. Mokuba had asked him to try to talk to his brother, hoping that Eric would be able to get through to him. Eric was a licensed therapist specializing in trauma and had talked to Mokuba over the phone several times, and now the younger Kaiba hoped he could help his brother. 

Eric and Kaiba had bonded over being outcasts in their combined family, and often when they would come visit, the CEO would invite him in for Brandy and a talk. Joey hadn’t been a big fan of Eric’s when he first got together with his sister, Serenity had gotten pregnant right before she finished high school, and had to take a year off of college because the doctors were concerned about her health. 

It had taken Joey a long time to get over that, along with the fear that he was going to lose his little sister again. Kaiba had been the one to help bring them together, reminding Joey of all the crap they had put each other through, and how no one in their right mind should be happy they were together. 

Finally, Joey relented, and while the two never became close friends, Joey respected the fact that Eric loved his sister and daughter. Eric had Kaiba to thank for that, even if the CEO did not acknowledge it. Eric knocked at Kaiba’s study door, entering when he heard a grunt. The decanter of Brandy was already out, and it looked like Kaiba had already took a drink. Eric settled in a seat, taking a moment to observe the brunet. 

Kaiba casually poured another glass, offering it to the man next to him. Eric took it, but he didn't drink. Instead, he looked down with the liquid trying to summon courage for what he wanted to say. He knew Kaiba well enough to know the brunet didn’t like people tiptoeing around their issues, and decided to dive right in. 

“You know, Serenity still cries herself to sleep most nights.” He started, watching as Kaiba’s hands tightened around his glass. “She wonders all the time what would happen if their mother would have done the right thing and gotten them both out of here when she could. If there hadn’t been so much hatred and anger between them, maybe Joey never would have joined that gang…” 

Kaiba picked up his glass, tossing it back as if it was water before slamming it down on the desk. Standing up, he walked briskly out the door, leaving Eric sitting there still holding his untouched glass. 

X 

The next night didn’t go much better. The rest of the gang came over for dinner, and naturally at some point the conversation turned to a tournament that had just been held. Kaiba have refused to participate, but Yugi had gone and dueled with several up and coming duelists. 

Just hearing Yugi talking about a tournament so casually was enough to make Kaiba’s skin crawl, but he managed to make it through dinner. The problem came at desert, when Charlotte innocently asked Yugi if he had used any of her uncle’s cards in his duel. 

“Why would he do that?” Kaiba snapped, causing everyone to look at him. Joey had left Yugi several of his cards in his will, something that had hurt Kaiba deeply when he found out. Even though he kept Joey’s Red Eyes, Joey had given Yugi his Time Wizard along with his Baby Dragon. As far as Kaiba knew, Yugi had framed his cards and had them hung in the game shop. He couldn’t bear the thought of anyone using them but Joey. He was so wrapped up in that thought, that when everyone burst into laughter around him, he didn’t know what it happened. Turn his ice blue eyes towards Tristan, who clearly had just said something. 

“Why would uncle Kaiba do that?” Henry, Ryou and Tea’s 4-year-old asked. 

“Uncle Joey and uncle Kaiba had sort of a love hate relationship when we were younger.” Yugi smiled, fondly looking back on a memory. “I still remember the night he came to the game shop a few weeks after we came back from Egypt. He told me he had just challenged your Uncle to a game of duel monsters, and your Uncle had told him he wouldn't fight a third-rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck.” Everyone laughed at the now-fond memory while Kaiba felt himself stiffen just a little. 

“Uncle Joey spent the next few weeks building a better deck, working at the game shop so grandpa would give him better cards. I didn’t know until later, but Joey would go to Kaiba Corp every Tuesday to challenge your uncle to a game of Duel Monsters, which he always refused. Uncle Mokuba finally mentioned it to me, and I went and told your Uncle Kaiba that if he didn’t duel, I would challenge Uncle Joey to a game with my title on the line and let him win. Next thing I knew, Uncle Joey was texting me he was dating your uncle Kaiba.” Yugi said with a smile. Tristan shook his head, rubbing his face. 

“I’m still traumatized by that day. Walking in on my brother and Joey…” Mokuba trailed off, shaking. He looked over at his brother, realizing that the brunet was about to explode. He was about to chance the subject when he was interrupted. 

Charlotte turned towards her uncle, looking up at him curiously. “Uncle Kaiba?” She asked. “Did you say that to Uncle Joey because you liked him?” She asked innocently, frowning as Kaiba turned his head towards her, glaring with a look she had never seen before. 

“No.” With that, he pushed his chair back, allowing it to scrape against the wood floor before standing up and strolling out of the room, hearing his- no -JOEY’S niece starting to cry as the door slams shut behind him. 

X 

Serenity marched into his study a short time later, looking as if she wanted to put him through a wall. ‘What is wrong with you.’ She snapped, grabbing the glass of bourbon out of Kaiba’s hand, and throwing it against the wall. “Do you think you’re the only one who has been suffering recently? Do you think that you’re the only one that cries themselves to sleep wishing things could be different?” She cried out, a mama bear protecting her cub. 

“Get out.” Kaiba growled, his fist tightening. 

“No. Joey would have hated to see you like this. Drinking, sleeping around, letting your company crumble around you? Where’s the man my brother fell in love with?” Serenity said, slamming her hands down on the desk and leaning in towards the brunet. Kaiba looked into her eyes, trying to muster the energy to physically remove her from his space. 

“Is this about the therapy? I know you guys were having some issues, but I thought you were working them out.” She asked, distracting Kaiba from what he wanted to do. 

“What therapy?” 

“The therapy Joey was in.” Kaiba sank back in his chair touching his fingers to his head. Joey was in therapy? He must have figured something was going on. Did he know? Or just suspect that his husband was acting different? Kaiba had been so careful trying to hide his stupidity. Clearly, it hadn’t worked, or Joey wouldn’t have needed a therapist. 

Serenity realized by the guilty look on the brunet’s face that while he might not have known about the therapy, he knew a good reason why Joey would be getting it. “What did you do to my brother Kaiba?” She whispered, watching as he went limp. 

Suddenly, the fight went out of her, and she just wanted to go home. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair, looking at the door. She didn’t want to cry in front of the CEO, her brother-in-law who had become a stranger. 

“We are going to leave in the morning. Thanks for inviting us.” She stated sadly, turning on her heel and walking out the door, shutting the door firmly behind her. 

X 

Kaiba spent the next two weeks ripping the house apart looking for any sign of a Journal. He couldn’t find it anywhere, and he was beginning to feel a little crazy. He had called Joeys therapist, finding the phone number by digging into his husband’s phone records. The man had been no help, even the threat of the Kaiba money would not get him to break doctor patient confidentiality. The only thing he would do was confirmed that there had been a journal. 

Two more weeks went past, and he didn’t find anything. Another month, and he had cleaned out everything on the third floor, donating a lot of it to charity and tossing out the rest. Another month and a half, and he had a whole new bedroom, getting rid of all the furniture and most of his clothes, anything Joey had like to see him in. He donated the bed and the furniture, after checking them over carefully to make sure the journal wasn’t hidden in there. His new bed was smaller, so it didn't feel like it was so empty, and he packed the sheets away, throwing them in one of the now empty upstairs rooms and locking the door. 

His new furniture was black, the sheets a dark grey along with the comforter and curtains. He wanted no color in the room, wanting it to reflect how he felt. He stopped looking for the Journal once the room was changed, as if throwing away the bed he had first seduced his husband on had sucked away any part of him that wanted to know the truth. 

Two more months went by and suddenly it was the 2nd anniversary of Joey’s death, and Pegasus was throwing another tournament in the blonde’s honor. Kaiba had stayed away, but Mokuba went, and of course Yugi was there, not dueling but speaking several times at the festivities. 

Two months later, Yugi called him, asking Kaiba to come over. Kaiba didn’t want to, but there was something in his old rival’s voice that made him decide to go. Pulling up to the game shop, he walked in the door, barely glancing at Yugi’s grandpa who somehow was still working behind the counter. The old man nodded towards the door, indicated that Kaiba could go in. 

Yugi was sitting at the counter, whispering to the one person in the world that Kaiba could not stand. Mai. The woman that was always in the back of his mind, the one his husband could leave him for. And yes, he realized the irony of him worrying about Joey cheating when he was, but he didn’t care about any of his lovers the way Joey cared about her. 

“What do you want?” Kaiba growled at them, standing in the doorway. Mai looked over at Yugi, who nodded encouragingly, before standing up and taking Kaiba by the elbow and leading him into the living room. She pulled him down on the couch, handing him a small package. 

“I knew you wouldn’t come here if I asked you to, but I feel like you needed this.” She said, looking at him. Kaiba unwrapped the gift, wondering why she would give him a book. Then he opened it, and realized what it was. Joey’s Journal. 

“How did you?” He asked looking up her. 

“I was here visiting about two weeks before he died.” She said, tapping the book. “We had dinner one night, and he pulled it out. He made me read it because he thought maybe he was crazy for thinking there was something going on. He made me promised not to tell anyone. He must have slipped it into my suitcase before I left because I didn’t realize I had it until I got home.” 

Kaiba stared at the book, not knowing what to say. “He loved you so much.” Mai said, “and I know how much you loved him, no matter what stupid things you were doing.” 

“I didn’t know how to ask him to give me what I needed.” Kaiba whispered gripping the small book. 

“I know. And I think he knew that too. It’s been over two years now Kaiba. You need to grieve, and you need to start living again. Joey would not want this for you, and you know it.” She said, patting him on the knee. Kaiba look down at the book in silence. 

“Thank you.” He finally said, and Mai smiled sadly at him. 

“I should get going.” The brunet said, still holding the book. 

“I’m here for a few days if you need to talk.” Mai said, wrapping her arms around the CEO in an awkward hug. Kaiba let her, standing up stiffly, nodding to Yugi and then his Grandfather as he made his way back to his car. 

Kaiba stook on the shore, looking out at the water, clutching Joey’s journal. It had been several months since Mai had given it to him, and the book had sat on his dresser untouched. Instead, he had gone back to wrapping himself up in work like he used to back when the only thing that mattered was Mokuba and his company. 

He had managed to expand Kaiba Corp once again, merging with a smaller gaming company to make his the biggest in the world, finally ahead of industrial illusions. There was no one that he’d rather celebrate this big news with let his husband, so after the meeting he had his driver take him down to the shore, to the little piece of land he had bought right after Joey died. Sometimes, he would come down to the water just to be with his husband alone. There was a bottle of booze next to him and took a drink out of the cheap vodka he had bought, grimacing when it did it go down smoothly like he was used to. 

“I was such a fool. He said, looking out. I took you for granted. I took us for granted. We had an amazing life, and I couldn’t just be happy.” Kaiba said, taking another drink. 

“I’m never happy, even when I get what I want it always turns bad. I got Mokuba out of that orphanage, and then my adopted father abused me for years. I got rid of him, and I took over the company, and I thought I had secured a future for my brother. Then people started coming after him and I had to worry constantly that someone was going to kill him or hurt him or make him disappear. Then I finally found you and got passed all the stuff we did to each other in high school. Then my money made somebody kill you, and I’m just back to the same awful person I was back then.” He took another drink, picking up the journal next to him and beginning to read. 

  


**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Mokuba did pay someone to kill Joey for him. Little Season 0 sneaking in at the end.


End file.
